Today Show’s Matt Lauer and Al Roker Reveal They Didn’t Like Each Other at First

The Today show stars got pretty candid about each other this week.

On the NBC program Thursday, several of them shared their first impressions of each other, pegged to a game Zendaya uses to break the ice while getting to know her co-stars.

“We had a rough start,” veteran co-host Matt Lauer said, gesturing towards weather anchor Al Roker, who like him, joined the Today show in the ’90s.

“We did,” Roker said.

“We had a rough start and it’s amazing we are dear friends now,” Lauer said. “Long story short, we’re on the air one time on local television years ago. Al said something to me that I did not appreciate, live on television.”

“He booted my name and I said, ‘Wow, not so easy in the big leagues, is it pretty boy?'” Roker said. 

Lauer’s regular co-host Savannah Guthrie told him, “The first time I met you, I thought you were cute.”

“Really?” he asked. “That’s nice.”

“And scary,” she added.

“It’s better than ‘Not so easy in the big time, pretty boy,'” Lauer said.

(E! and NBC are part of the NBCUniversal family.)